Chương 13: Father vs Son 1
A month or two after Roxy left Buena village, the scene at the Greyrat household was tense. Paul and Rudeus stared at each other with their blades drawn. Father and son readied themselves as their muscles tightened and eyes narrowed. This time, neither would be holding back.
Paul wielded the wooden long sword he typically used to train Rudeus with, while his son similarly brandished the short wooden sword Paul made for him when he was just three years old. Though they were going to get serious, there was still no need to use bladed weaponry in just a spar, even if it was a particularly serious one.
After Roxy left, Rudeus was now free to devote all of his time to swordsmanship. Just developing Magic Sword style wasn't enough to sate his gluttonous appetite for growth. To resolve this burning desire in his heart, he was determined to break down the final ceiling of martial prowess that had loomed over his head since he first picked up a sword.
His father.
Rudeus had never once been able to defeat Paul in a spar, even when utilizing all of the magic at his disposal.
While there were distinct differences between all three sword styles, one thing they had in common were techniques to contend against magicians.
The Sword God style taught its practitioners to burst past a magician's spell, avoiding any projectiles and cut down its caster before they got a chance to cast another spell.
The Water God style utilized stable defence, blocking and deflecting magic being cast at the user while steadily approaching and close the distance. A common sense in this world was that magicians were weak at close range after all.
The North God style prioritized tricks and feints to divert a magician's attention, but was still adaptable based on the specialization of their theoretical target. They had methods to close the distance with acrobatics, or a more conservative style to exhaust the magician's mana.
Paul was proficient in all three, and their respective techniques to counter a spell casting magician.
Hence, while Rudeus' Magic Sword style had infinite adaptability comparable to North God style, literally rock steady defence and stability like Water God style and aggressive and explosive firepower like Sword God style, Paul could still hold his own albeit with some difficulty.
Thusly, Rudeus understood that unless he could surpass his father, his swordsmanship would never progress. After hearing Roxy's parting words about stagnation and ambition, Rudeus knew that if he stagnated, he wouldn't know how to face Roxy when they reunited.
Paul took the first step, his imposing physique rushing forward with a speed that did not fit his size.
Rudeus responded by expelling mana out of the soles of his feet, liquefying the soil between them. This was a Melded Magic that combined Water and Earth spells, called Quagmire.
The older Greyrat felt his foot sink beneath the grass and soil that now had the viscosity of swampy mud. He immediately leaned to his right and rolled out of the liquefied earth, utilizing his large frame's wider surface area to prevent himself from sinking.
Having fought Rudeus so often, and experiencing his magic with equal frequency, Paul already knew how to counter most of Rudeus' spells cast during battle. The spell he called Quagmire was one of his son's favourite opening moves as it disrupted his opponent's balance and gave him ample time to react.
While Paul dealt with the Quagmire, Rudeus wasn't just idling and waiting for his father to close the distance. In a fight between a magician and a swordsman, distance was the most crucial factor that decided victory.
Behind Rudeus, ice crystalized in mid-air and created a dozen swords formed from pure ice. The temperature around Rudeus fell sharply but the Mana Reinforcement layered on his skin resisted the coldness.
With just a thought, the ice weapons flew at Paul without inhibition. Though they were magical constructs, these blades still had sharp edges that could easily cut through flesh. Yet Rudeus had sent them at his father not because he cared not for the other's safety, but because he knew these ice swords would at best be a distraction against Paul's martial prowess.
After regaining his balance, Paul continued his advance towards his son with a stern look on his face, easily deflecting or avoiding the incoming ice swords with ease. The Touki he wore subconsciously on his body strengthened his physical prowess to superhuman levels.
As Rudeus caught sight of his Father rapidly approaching, he pumped out another batch of mana that reacted instantly, forming a launch pad under his right foot that subsequently launched him into the air towards his left.
Without hesitation, the child then twisted his body and created a wind barrier to under his feet before leaping across the Greyrat's garden while forming more magical platforms with every step he took, high up from the ground.
'Aerial superiority. Something a swordsman can never match.'
Rudeus gloated to himself, as he left behind multiple balls of light along the arc of his movements in the air. These orbs glowed slightly before releasing a barrage of tiny fire balls directed at Paul and his surrounding area.
'This kid is getting really dangerous…' Paul bitterly thought as he readied a stance in response.
Water God Style: Water Curtain!
Paul swung his sword in sweeping motions, while his shoulder rotated with surprising flexibility. The thin blade of his sword was able to block and deflect the rain of fire despite its narrow width, due in large part to the defensive technique of the number one defensive sword style.
The aftermath of the offensive magic battery left burnt marks all over the Greyrat garden, while a circle of pristine grass that was within Paul's range remained untouched. As the grown man eyed his opponent, Rudeus had already landed on the other side of the garden, where Paul had started out in the beginning.
The wind platforms he created while using Air Step only lasted for as long as it took for him to take a step while running, so they were not suitable if he wanted to stay for a prolonged period of time in the air unless he intended to keep dashing back and forth while rapidly creating new platforms.
Rudeus landed partly to conserve his mana, though Air Step didn't really expend that much of his mana which had already grown to epic proportions. But he landed anyways to prepare for his next attack. Besides, assuming Paul really had zero methods to deal with an enemy that could fly would be a mistake.
The boy leaned forward and swung the wooden short sword in his hand in an upwards arc. What followed were tens of thick rock spikes erupting out of the ground in the direction of Paul.
Paul's biggest advantage in this battle was his speed and mobility. Rudeus intended to take away the ground that gave him this advantage.
The older Greyrat came out of his Water God Style defensive stance and went down low, almost doing a full squat. He held his wooden long sword by his waist and tightened his grip on the handle.
Sword God Style: Grass Cutter.
Paul swung horizontally in a straight line, unconsciously releasing a solidified but invisible blade of mana towards the earth spikes that had rapidly neared him.
The rock pillars that resembled thick, jagged stalagmites were shattered at their base, forming roughly cut cross-sections where Paul had cut through them.
The broken pieces of earth spikes were then swept away with another swing of Paul's sword before he ran forward, using the rock stumps as platforms to manoeuvre himself. But halfway through, he felt the rocky platforms withdraw back into the soil, where the surface wobbled as though it was a lake rippling from a thrown pebble.
Sensing Paul's momentary imbalance, Rudeus dashed forward using Earth magic to launch him at speeds higher than he what was capable with just his body.
The Mana Reinforcement wrapped around his body grew denser as Rudeus silently casted several spells in conjunction.
Wind whipped around his wooden sword, lengthening its blade while providing a razor sharp edge. Four small metallic shields formed out of mid air while rotating around Rudeus, pumped full of mana to increase its hardness and durability. A large volume of water materialised around Rudeus before splitting into a hundred individual cylinders that subsequently froze, creating a hundred ice knives that then flew at Paul.
Like before, the ice weapons were only meant as a distraction. To avoid being skewered, Paul was forced to stay in the Quagmire and activate his Water God style defence.
As Paul deflected the last of the ice knives aimed at him, Rudeus arrived, charging headfirst with one of his rock shields leading the way.
Paul swung his sword, transitioning from the Water God style to the Sword God style with practiced ease. Since his feet were still stuck in the quagmire, he had to stand his ground and clash in a melee, which was what he preferred anyway.
The floating Earthen shield folded in half from Paul's violent downwards strike, and was swiftly battered away. However, the older greyrat realised the small buckler which had flown at him was not just acting as a protective measure for his son, it was also meant as another distraction to hide Rudeus from his line of sight.
The boy had already somehow appeared 90 degrees on his left, Paul's non-dominant side, and his sword was already mid-swing, ready to cut him in half.
Clang! Bzzzt!
Their wooden swords clashed, a metallic like sound rang when they made contact because of the Mana Reinforcement coated on their weapons, despite their weapons not being made of metal. Then, a buzzing sound immediately filled the air, as the wind magic on Rudeus' sword formed a buzz saw like effect that grinded at Paul's sword. it was slowly but surely being chipped away bit by bit even with Paul unconsciously filling his blade with mana.
Realising his sword would break sooner or later if he did not stop this deadlock, Paul swung his leg towards his son's considerably smaller body. However his kick was blocked by the second rock shield that flew to intercept his leg!
This was the strategy Rudeus devised to challenge Paul and other future opponents who relied too much on their swords - Advanced Magic Sword technique: Sword Breaker.
It was actually a tactic that looked simple on the surface but there were several conditions that Rudeus needed to fulfil beforehand for it to succeed.
First he needed to restrict his opponent's mobility. Rudeus used his Quagmire Melded Magic to bind Paul's feet and then released the Intermediate Water spell, Ice Knives, to prevent him from moving away.
Next, he had to rapidly close the distance which he did not have trouble achieving with Earth Dash.
Thirdly, Rudeus also needed a way to protect himself even after their blades clashed. Assuming his opponent had equally dense Mana Reinforcement layered on their weapon, it would take more than a minute to carve through with his Wind element buzzsaw. The Intermediate Earth spell Iron Buckler fulfilled this purpose.
By the way, the original Beginner-grade Stone Buckler spell only created floating chunks of shield-shaped rocks. But the spell was upgraded by Rudeus when he injected enough mana to materialize metallic ore instead of stone. They weren't made of metal, to be precise, but were instead chunks of rock with traces of metal that strengthened their durability.
These Frisbee sized metallic discs moved according to his will, directed by his mana, allowing him to protect himself even if he was busy locking blades with an enemy.
The preparations Rudeus made in advanced allowed him to spring this checkmate-like move seemingly out of nowhere.
'Now Paul, how will you deal with this? If you try to move away my sword will cut you. If you try to push harder, it will only destroy your sword faster. Maintaining the status quo will only delay the inevitable. This is checkmate, dad!'
What? Was this technique cowardly? Devious? Underhanded? So what! Pro soccer players specialised in breaking the rules without really breaking the rules, and there aren't even any rules to sword-fighting to begin with!
Rudeus cautiously waited for Paul's counterattack and his expectations were not betrayed as his older opponent's hands blurred. The next moment, without Rudeus being able to understand what had happened, his sword was suddenly smacked out of his hand.
'...huh?'
Paul let a crafty smile slip through the stoic face he adopted.
'Even though I have already accepted that you will surpass me in no time, did you think I will submit to you so soon! I have eaten more salt than you have rice, want to compare trickiness?'
If Rudeus could hear Paul's inner thoughts, he would have been truly shocked. While the child thought that he had been leading his father into a trap, he was unaware that Paul was already aware of what Rudeus was trying to do.
What had caused Rudeus to lose his grip on his sword was actually Paul executing a technique that did not belong to any of the three sword styles he had been teaching. That was why Rudeus was not able to foresee this scene when he planned his sure-kill checkmate move.
Paul's sword moved, immediately striking towards Rudeus.
The boy's eyes widened and for a moment he felt grave danger. In response, he released one of the spells he had prepared since the beginning of the fight but has held it back for precisely a scenario like this one.
The principle of it was simple. After casting the spell silently, instead of releasing the gathered mana that had converged to construct the intended spell, Rudeus held it back and stored it somewhere within his body, bound by his mana circulation and maintained with a constant stream of mana to sustain its activation.
This was actually a very dangerous act as storing a prepared spell like that put immense pressure on Rudeus' mana circuits. His mana had been moving within him like water that had to flow around a large boulder that suddenly appeared in a river. Though his mana could still circulate properly, it exerted considerable strain on his circuits.
As far as Rudeus knew, after cautious experimentation, his mana circuit's limit was the storage of mana equivalent to a single Beginner level spell. Any more than that he would either lose control of the prepared spell after just a few seconds or perhaps something even worse.
Obviously, Rudeus had not been willing to see what other side effects might be a consequence of overestimating his limits.
However, the advantages of such a technique was also clear enough.
Incantation-less magic only looked like it was being cast instantly from the perspective of others. It still took time for Rudeus to move his mana based on how he remembered mana circulating when he cast the spell with incantations. He also needed to split his attention mid battle to focus and visualise the intended effects of the spell he wanted to cast. Hence, it wasn't as fast or as uncomplicated as what other people might think.
Being able to release a prepared spell was the true meaning of instant spell casting. And those split seconds it took to properly cast a spell were absolutely crucial in a battle at a high enough level...
Instantly, a burst of wind erupted from Rudeus' chest, blasting both Paul and Rudeus himself away from each other. This served the dual function of opening up the distance between them and disorienting Paul.
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